*

Textbooks for medical students

NB: These textbooks/tools are only essential in my opinion. They are what helped me the most over my past 4.5 years of med school, so I hope they help you too. (I’m also studying for the EE/NAC exams (Canadian Boards), so I’m currently using Toronto Notes 2016 as well, but it’s best to not look at them if you’re not planning on writing these exams.)

I recommend buying second-hand books, but if you want to buy a fresh copy, I suggest getting them at thebookdepository.com, they offer free shipping worldwide and dispatch from the UK within 2 working days.

Anatomy

Gray’s Anatomy for students
Netter’s Anatomy flashcards
Neuroanatomy (Crossman and Neary)
Cranial Nerves Functional Anatomy (Stanley Monkhouse)- pdf link

I recommend getting a separate neuro book because myself and a lot of my peers were struggling without a more comprehensive book to guide us through it. The cranial nerves pdf version is worth spending time on- it will help you understand neuropathology a lot more in the future.

Physiology

Lippincott’s Biochemistry- best for those godawful G6P pathways etc
Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology

Pharmacology

I used the BRS series
Get access to the BNF it will save your life

Pathology

BRS series again
Pathoma- incredible. Everything will make sense after getting through it.

Microbiology

Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple

For physio, pharm, path: if you are considering/taking the USMLE, use First Aid and BRS textbooks.

Clinical Medicine

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine- good for quick references on the wards
Kumar & Clark’s Clinical Medicine- literally has all you need to know about medicine as a final year student
Oxford Cases in Medicine and Surgery- case based, good for people initially starting clinical attachments. This helped me a lot with learning hx taking
Oxford Assess and Progress Clinical Medicine- for MCQ practice

Physical Exams

Ruthven’s Essential Examination- VITAL for passing OSCEs
Clinical Cases and OSCEs in Surgery- V. good if you want honors in surgery
Talley & O’Connor Clinical Examination- Very good, detailed explanations, good pictures. Probably more detailed than needed for just a pass.

Surgery

(honestly I find surgery very straightforward. I only use college materials and my college has its own handbook..don’t think anyone else can access it, sorry.)
If you’re like me and a huge sucker for surgery, I bought a hand-me-down Moore’s Clinically Oriented Anatomy to help me understand wtf was going on during surgical procedures, and in case surgeons pimp me on anatomy questions.

SPECIALTY SUBJECTS:
Paediatrics

Paeds in a Page- summarizes every paediatric disease known in 2 pages or less. Helped me the most for this terrible subject.
100 Cases in Paediatrics
Illustrated Textbook of Paediatrics (aka ‘the sunflower book’)- good diagrams + flowcharts
Paeds at a Glance

I had a lot of resources for this module because I struggled a lot with paeds. If you had to pick 1 I’d go with either Paeds in a Page or Sunflower.

Psychiatry

(again, my college prints its own textbook for psychiatry, and that’s honestly all I needed. no one else can access this, sorry.)

Oxford Handbook of General Practice- has more than enough of what you need to know

OBGYN

Obstetrics & Gynaecology- I didn’t really need this tbh. My college has a really good lecture series for this module.

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology: an Illustrated Colour Text

Hope some of you find this helpful, good luck and don’t hesitate to msg me if you have any questions at all! Happy studying~

*

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

More you might like

Textbooks for medical students